


Washed Ashore

by liza011



Category: Baldur's Gate, baldur's gate 3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-25 13:55:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30090138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liza011/pseuds/liza011
Summary: She made it to shore, exhausted and not quite as near the harbor as she’d liked. She dragged herself onto the beach when she saw people carrying torches in the distance. The ship’s crew was looking for her.She coughed, expelling some water from her lungs, then drew in air to call them.“Guys! I’m here!”They had heard her and came running. The captain himself was among the group and he gave her a warm smile. “Jora! We were worried sick! We thought we lost you to the sea!”(I wanted to write a story (and backstory) for my current player character in Baldur's Gate 3. So, here goes nothing.Tags will be updated as I work on it. Rest assured we will get to the companions of the game within the first few chapters. Probably.)





	1. Chapter 1

Jora, the woman the captain had permitted to travel on their vessel, heard the sailors shouting over the crashing of the waves against the hull. Their voices were distant, almost drowned out by the storm.

“We’re sinking! Umberlee is going to take us!”

Nobody paid any attention to her. They didn’t see her smiling at the chaos that had unfolded aboard and they did not know that it had been her who had caused the situation to turn from bad to worse in the first place. They were completely unaware of the acid that had been eating away at the wood below deck. If they had checked her backpack upon boarding, they would have found a contract tucked away in a waterproof cylinder. A man named Bron wanted to see their cargo at the bottom of the sea and did not care if the crew went with it.

They were not far from the docks. About half a mile out. Jora had made sure she would be able to swim the distance, just in case things went wrong.

“Get everyone into the lifeboats!” the captain ordered.

Another wave sent the ship rocking, making her lose her footing and fall backwards onto the deck.

One of the sailors grabbed Jora’s shoulder. “Are you alright?”

She groaned and held the back of her head. “I’m not sure. I hit my head pretty hard.” She hadn’t. She was perfectly fine. She just wanted him to be concerned. Jora had perfected the art of lying and manipulating people. Her unassuming appearance made it all the easier for her to get them to believe her. She had gotten away with things far worse than this. People rarely suspected her. Being human, humans being as common as dirt in Faerun, also made it so she never really stood out no matter where she went within the realm. Even wearing light armor and having a dagger at her side didn’t earn her any second glances. Anyone who traveled, even just from one village to another, knew that putting on some leather and taking a sharp knife, a cleaver, a hammer, an axe, or anything comparable was better than nothing on the road. She’d seen farmers armed with pitchforks at times where wolves tended to roam the wilds to hunt.

“I’ll help you walk. We need to get out of here. Ship’s going down.”

They crossed the short distance to the rowboats. The sailor climbed in first, then lent her a helping hand as she pretended to struggle with the constantly swaying floor beneath her feet. When she was finally seated and a few of the other crew members had filled the remaining spaces, they lowered their dinghy to sea level and began rowing towards the shore, guided only by the light shining from the docks.

More boats followed them and a minute into their journey she realized she had underestimated the weather. The storm was worse than she had expected. The sailors rowing had to work hard to keep them moving towards land. Completely soaked from the rain and assaulted by the wind, Jora shuddered as the cold slowly crept into her bones.

“This really sucks,” she said to the sailor who had helped her. “Couldn’t it have at least been sunny?”

“Nay, the Bitch Queen can’t have a ship sinking in good weather,” he laughed. “This makes for far more dramatic stories.” He was quite cheerful despite their circumstances.

“Anyone know what happened?”

“We were taking water. Big old hole in the hull. Wood was worn already and some of our cargo spilled and made the damage worse.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“Yeah, bet the captain will refrain from transporting dangerous goods in the future. Too many things that can go wrong, as you can see by the predicament we find ourselves in.”

“Yes. Know what, once we make it to shore, I’ll buy you a drink. Consider it a thank you for helping me.”

“You sure?”

Jora smiled widely. “Absolutely! You’re my hero tonight.”

She didn’t get to see his reaction, instead she was dragged under the water’s surface by a rogue wave that had swept her, and presumably everyone on the small vessel into the ocean’s maw to be devoured. When she resurfaced she couldn’t spot anyone. The lack of light from the storm cloud covered sky and the swell of the sea made it impossible. The glow from the dock however was still available, though the current was dragging her further away from it and the safety it provided. She had learned not to fight the sea, swimming against the current was suicidal, the water was stronger than her. She let it carry her until she felt the pull on her lessen and knew she could get out of it. She had traveled by sea quite often and though she was no sailor, she had received some wisdom from them on her trips. Her curiosity had inspired them to share their knowledge with her. And in situations like these, she found herself benefitting from it.

She made it to shore, exhausted and not quite as near the harbor as she’d liked. She dragged herself onto the beach when she saw people carrying torches in the distance. The ship’s crew was looking for her.

She coughed, expelling some water from her lungs, then drew in air to call them.

“Guys! I’m here!”

They had heard her and came running. The captain himself was among the group and he gave her a warm smile. “Jora! We were worried sick! We thought we lost you to the sea!”

“Thank you. I’m alright. Did everyone make it? I think our dinghy capsized.” Her concern was genuine. She liked chaos, and usually she didn’t care all that much if people got hurt or even killed, but she’d come to know the sailors and the captain quite well on their journey and she would have regretted it had she gotten them killed. She liked them. They were a hard working, jolly bunch who joked and sang a lot.

“It did. Everyone else is fine. You were the last to make it to shore. We didn’t even realize what had happened until Sol swam up to our lifeboat.”

“I’m relieved to hear nobody got hurt.” The downpour hadn’t ceased and as another gust of wind tugged at her soaking wet body, she shivered. “How about we get dry first? I would love to be out of this rain.”

The captain agreed. She followed him and the sailors to the port and once they had spoken to the harbormaster about the ship and the cargo they had lost, they headed into the city to the nearest inn, where Jora happily ordered them all a round of drinks.

The sailor who had helped her had been the same who had swum up to the captain’s lifeboat to alert them of their capsized dinghy. They ended up talking at length and she learned that this was his home port. He had been born and raised in Baldur’s Gate and this trip had been his last for the next fortnight. As he had assessed earlier, storms really did make for more dramatic stories and he would be coming home with quite the one to tell tonight.

After a while, as the conversations slowly dwindled, she excused herself and headed to the inkeep to see if they had a room she could rent upstairs to stay the night.

“Jora? I wanted to talk to you.” The captain stopped her as she made her way to the bar. For a moment she thought he might have gotten suspicious of her, but her worries were unfounded when he continued speaking, “Come see me at the docks tomorrow. I’d like to offer you a place as a crew member on my new vessel. Well, once I have secured one that is.”

She studied his face for a moment. He had meant every word he had said. It brought a smile onto her face. “I would love that! But I don’t understand why you would even consider such a thing. I am not trained. I wouldn’t even know what to do.”

“You’re a quick learner and the rapt fascination you displayed while we were out on sea made me think you’d make a very good addition to the crew. We’ll make a sailor out of you in no time. Plus, everyone likes you and you said you hate having to go weeks without a new contract, not knowing where your next sum of gold to feed yourself will come from.”

She hadn’t even lied about that part. Her current line of work was unpredictable and stressful. “True enough. I accept. I’ll be there tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll see if someone put out a notice to recover your cargo.” She often did this. Taking one contract to make sure goods were lost, then taking another to recover them. After all, some of the boxes were still sealed and the water wouldn’t have damaged all of the ship’s cargo. It just came down to knowing where it had been lost.

“That’s the spirit! They’ll be so happy to hear the good news. If you can’t find me, just ask anyone at the harbor. They’ll know where I am. You remember my name, don’t you?”

Jora scratched her nose, slightly embarrassed. “I’m bad with names. Started with a T didn’t it?”

He laughed. “It does. Trenton. Ya better repeat it, so you won’t forget again.”

“Trenton,” she complied, amused. “Thank you again so much. I can’t wait to be out on sea again. But while we’re training me, please no more sinking ships, alright?”

Trenton placed a hand over his heart. “I swear on the life of my new vessel.”

“Great! Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then. I’m going to get some rest now.”

“You do that. Good night to you.”

He left for his seat at the table again, but not before ordering another beer.

The woman serving turned to her. “What can I do for you?”

“You got any rooms to rent for the night?” she asked.

“Ah, sure. Let me get the guest book and see which one is available.” She left for a room behind the bar and came back a few moments later announcing, “Upstairs second room to the right. You’ll have to pay up front though.”

“Not a problem. How much?”

“Five gold.”

She handed over the money and the woman scribbled something down on a list pinned to a cork board on the wall.

After the inkeep had counted the pieces, she received the key to the room. “Make sure to bring it back after sunrise or we will have to send folk after you to retrieve it.”

Jora grinned. “There won’t be any need for that.”

Upstairs she locked the door behind her and placed her backpack on the floor. The room was simple, holding a dresser, a small table with two chairs and the bed she was going to sleep in. It also had a fireplace, which she was glad for. They had provided wood and a tinderbox and so the first thing she did was light a fire to dry her clothes, especially her boots.

She took them off before moving on to her bracers and vest, placing them in front of the fire then sitting down to warm up. She brushed her fingers through her hair to remove some of the salt left in it from her involuntary dip in the sea.

Letting out a long sigh, she rolled up the sleeves of her tunic. Her arms were scarred all over and tonight she had received a few new cuts as she had worked below deck, sabotaging a barrel to leak corrosive fluid. They weren’t all that deep, but they were bad enough to add to the collection of scars she had already acquired.

She put some more logs into the fire, removed her pants and made herself comfortable in the bed. She was thankful for the soft mattress and the clean sheets. She would rest well tonight.

She closed her eyes and listened to the crackling of the fire as she drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Jora slammed her hand onto the table. She was at Bron’s hideout and she was furious. “You son of a bitch! I SANK their fucking ship! Nowhere in the contract did it state WHERE to get rid of their goods! You can’t refuse to pay me just because you don’t make your instructions clear enough! Writing that you want to see their cargo at the bottom of the sea is exactly what I did! You should have specified, in the MIDDLE of the ocean NOWHERE NEAR the shore, so that it can’t be retrieved!”

Bron looked entirely unimpressed by her rage. He shrugged and scratched his chin, dislodging crumbs of bread from his beard in the process. “I thought it was clear. Anyway, I’m feeling generous today so here’s half the agreed amount for a botched job.” He signaled two of his bodyguards to escort her out once she had picked up the pouch with the gold.

Jora knew better than to start a fight. “Next time I’m taking a contract from you, I’ll make sure to ask for more details beforehand,” she spat. “I’ll let all my friends know to watch out when dealing with you!”

He rolled his eyes and dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand.

“Move!” the taller of the two men escorting her ordered.

She bit her lip to keep herself from replying something nasty.

There would be no way now to find any contracts to retrieve the cargo, Bron would make sure of that. He was well connected and he knew how she worked. It made her all the more bitter. The only upside to all of this was that she had a secure job once Trenton had a new vessel for them to set sail with. She knew it would probably take a while and until then, she would have to make sure to be able to pay for food and shelter. She could survive in the wilds, she’d done so before, but given the option she preferred to dwell in the city instead of its uninhabited outskirts.

Out on the streets again, the sun was already going down. She had officially signed her papers from Trenton, stating that he would take her on as an apprentice to become a sailor and he was going to pay her a salary that would make her life considerably easier from then on out. It made her feel bad she had screwed them over, but she had needed the money.

She went back to the inn she had stayed at yesterday and rented the room for the rest of the week. She ordered dinner and still feeling restless after she’d eaten, she decided to go for a walk through the city to see if there were any new marks on any of the houses. There was thieves cant all over the city, symbols painted onto walls and people hiding secret messages in normal conversations. She’d passed three houses on her way from the hideout back to the inn that would take in anyone running from the law. Another had been marked as an easy target and yet another was marked as guild territory.

She followed a trail and when she rounded another corner into an alley that wasn’t as well lit, she saw someone leaving it just as she stepped into it.

They had been sneaking. She didn’t quite know what made her do it, but she hurried to get another glimpse and indeed, someone was skulking about, they seemed to have a set destination in mind. They moved with purpose.

Jora tailed the person dressed in dark colors. Their hair did not really help them, in her opinion. It was white. They should have worn a hood to conceal it. It was like a beacon in the dim light.

She memorized the streets so she would find her way back. Wherever they were going, it wasn’t further into the city. They were headed towards the less populated areas. The shadier parts. The parts where nobody would look twice if there was an accident.

She slowed down and let some distance stretch between her and the person she was tailing. She waited quite a while after they had disappeared into the next alleyway and then, walking normally, went to see where she had ended up, guided by this stranger.

It was a narrow side street that looked like any other, but about a third of the way in Jora found herself face to face with the person she had tailed, the cold metal of the point of a rapier right against the skin of her throat.

“Hands where I can see them. No sudden movements.”

She grinned and folded her hands in front of her in a relaxed manner. The speaker was a high elf, she was quite sure of it, what threw her off however were his eyes. They were red, like those of the Loth sworn drow, and they were fixed quite intensely on hers. “Is this alright?” she asked. She hadn’t expected him to notice she had been following him.

He ignored her question. “Why were you following me?”

His tone had turned sharp and in conjunction she felt the tip of his weapon push against her neck harder. It was an uncomfortable feeling and she knew if he really wanted, he could kill her right here. She didn’t feel like she was in danger though. He was just suspicious. “Curiosity. I saw you sneak out an alley and just decided on a whim to follow, just to see where you would lead me.” She didn’t look away and it seemed to quell his distrust of her.

“You’re either really stupid, or suicidal,” he said, removing the blade from her throat and sheathing it. “A bit of advice: Don’t do that again if you value your life.”

Jora took a bow, it was half sincere, half mocking. “Thank you. I will remember that. May I offer some advice in return?”

His eyebrows shot up, then he laughed. “Why not. Though I doubt it will be of any use to me.”

“You should cover your hair. It gives away your position like someone carrying a torch in a dungeon.”

He stepped into her space so quick she only had time to take half a step back before he had reached her. He was at least a head taller than her and needed to lean down to get to her eye level. When she hadn’t felt any semblance of threat before, she did now, absurdly after he was no longer armed. She knew why. If he used raw strength to grapple her or hold her down she would have a hard time getting away. She also didn’t like how fast he was. She barely had had any time to react and it unnerved her. Something wasn’t quite right.

“You’d really want to cover this good of a head of hair?”

The way he ran a hand through it in a completely overexaggerated fashion made her laugh. He was confident and quite aware that he was good looking. Still, the tension didn’t leave her body. She had realized he was toying with her.

Jora took a step to the side, pretending to have a better look at it. His previous gesture hadn’t just been to show off, it had been deliberate, to turn his body to block the way she’d come down the street.

“On second thought, no.”

He wasn’t letting up. The moment she had stepped around him, he had repositioned himself once more and now it was clear to her that this little exchange was very likely to turn bad if she tried to walk away. He was resting with his shoulder against the wall, completely facing her. It would have looked casual to most people, but she could tell he was ready to stop her with force if needed.

“I made up my mind,” he announced with a chuckle. “You’re not stupid. Far from. You’re just the slightest bit suicidal.”

She put her back against the opposite wall and crossed her arms. She didn’t want him to think she was going to run. It calmed her when he mirrored her and looked up at the stars in the clear sky. It gave her a small window to get her bearings once more in the narrow space.

“Some would say that makes me stupid,” she countered.

For a split second, his expression changed. There was pain there. “They’re wrong.”

She saw him shift his weight and was ready to retreat, but this time, he was moving lazily and not into her direction, so she stayed where she was. “I would agree.”

He stretched and let her know, “You’re extremely lucky this evening. If we ever meet again, you owe me a drink.”

“Of course. And thank you.” She was almost certain he had decided to let her leave and that if he hadn’t, she would probably be dead, or worse.

He had been about to walk away but turned back to her, smiling so widely it exposed his teeth. “You’re welcome. Don’t go following strangers again in these parts. Next time it might not be me you’ll find and that would make you very unlucky.”


End file.
